Land-leveling machine



J. L. HENRY LAND LEVELING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed n12- 1926 gnaw Hot amen,

LI /e5 16, 1927. J- L. HENRY 639,182

LAND LEVELING' MACHINE Filed Aug. 27, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 LO v Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

PATENT OFFICE.

JULES L. HENRY, 015 YSLETA, TEXAS.

V LAND'LEVELING MACHINE.

Application filed August 27, 1926. Seria1 No. 131,957.

This invention appertains generally to new and useful improvements in land leveling machines and relates particularlyto such an improved machine primarily designed for the leveling of irrigating tables.

In irrigating farming, a table is a strip of land approximately thirty to forty feet wide and of variable length, this strip of land being bordered on its opposite sides and divide d from the adjacent tables by means of ridges so that water may be turned in at one end of the table and allowed to run thereover until it reaches the other end after which the water is shut off and turned into the next table so as to irrigate the same.

In table leveling, it is not important whether there be very much or little or in humps come from the higher end of the table and be smeared along towards the lower end thereof.

It is, therefore, the purpose and primary invention to provide object of the present leveling machine of such an improved land the above character whereby the proper and even leveling of an irrigating table can be.

, readily and efficiently achieved;

Another object of the present invention 1s to provide such an improved land leveling machine of the above character which em- 49 bodies a skidding frame and a box drag positioned within and pivotally secured to the said skidding frame.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of new and novel means for raising and lowering the box drag and for holding the same in its raised or inoperative position when so desired.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved leveling machine of the above character wherein the box drag associated therewith is provided with a rake, a cutting harrow and a plane board arranged one behind the other in the; order named. v

ble be the same must all I 5-5 of Figure 4.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such an improved levelingmachine which while simple in its construction 18 nevertheless strong, sturdy and durable,

practical and eliicient in'its operation, easy and cheap to manufacture and well designed for the purposes for which it is intended.

W 1th these and numerous other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and formation of parts as will be. more specifically hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. l

In thedrawings forming a part of the application and wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

' Figure 1 is a side elevation of an improved land leveling machine constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a front end view of the same.

- Figure 4 is a longitudinal central sectional view taken through the improved machine.

Figure 5 is a sectional view takenon line Figure 6 is sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 4. r

Referring now more in detail to the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration has been disclosed one practical embodiment of the present improved land leveling machine, the letter A generally indicates the skidding frame thereof and B the box drag arranged within and pivotally carried by the said skidding frame, as will be more fully The skidding frame A embodies in its construction, a pair of longitudinally extending spaced boards or skids 10 and 11, the opposite ends'thereof being preferably undercut as indicated at 12 and 13 so that the frame may be readily drawn in either direction. The skids 10 and 11 are connected adjacent hereinafter described. 7

their forward ends by means of the transrear beam is firmly secured by means of the braces 17.

Secured to the inner surfaces of the skids of approximately 45.

and 11 adjacent to but slightly in the rear of the forward transverse beam 14 are the vertically arranged supports 18 and 19 and secured to the upper ends of the said supports and extending therebetween is the tran=i verse bar 20 carrying intermediate its ends an eye 21. The opposite ends of the said transverse bar 20 project beyond the said supports 18 and 19 and have secured thereto the upper ends of the brace bars 22 and 23, the lower ends of which are secured to the outer surfaces of the skids 10 and 11. The transvcre bar 20 may be further braced by means of suitable straps 24.

Carried by the skids 10 and 11 intermediate the ends thereof is a bench gener-Z ally indicated by the numeral 25 and eon-l sisting of the spaced front and rear 1110-;

rights 26 and 27 secured to the outer surfaces of the skids and supporting at their upper ends the seat 28 extending transe versely of and between the said skids, the said rear uprights 27 extending upwardly? beyond the seat 28 and having secured there to the transversely extending back rest 29 The box drag B embodies in its construc tion the longitudinally extending side board 30 and 31 which are arranged inwardly o the skids 10 and 11 and have their rear ends mately intermediate the ends of the skids 10:

boards 30 and 31 approximately about two feet in the rear of the strips 38 and 39 are the oppositely disposed strips 42 and 43, said strips also being preferably arranged at an angle of approximately #5 and having secured thereto the transversely extending planing board it which may be either of wood or metal the lower edge of the said board being preferably on a level with the lower edge of the box drag and with the skids 10 and 11 said planing board being tilted permanently at an angle of 45 W hen the dirt loosened by the harrow teeth ll comes to the pl ning be is carried or pushed along; ,7 the low places automatically dirt in excess of what the board can carry passes over the top thereof and is then engaged and carried along by a second planing board 45 which is similarly arranged about two feet in the rear of the planing board 4%, and secured to the strips 46 and i? carried by the inner surfaces of the side boards 30 and 31. Suitable braces 48, 19 and 50 may also be provided for securing the opposite ends of the said planing boards and in proper rigid positions and it will be appreciated that any desired number of planing boards may be employed.

Carried by the drag box dr adjacent the forward end thereof is a b n 51 which simply consists of the space-d front and rear uprights 52 and secured to the side boards and 11 and that the said side boards extend upwardly beyond the upper edges of th said skids. The forward edges of the sid boards 30 and 31 of the box drag are bevelec at an angle of approximately 45 as indi cated at 3st and and extending between the said side boards 30 and 31 and securec to the bevelled forward edges 34: and 3 thereof is a rake 36 provided with a plurality of teeth 3'7. T he rake teeth 37 are pref- 31 and 30 and supporting at tn ir upper ends a customary seat 54.

The numerals 5a and iieare a pair of looped straps which are piv tally secured as at 57 and 58' to the outer surfaces of the side boards 30 and 31 of the box intermediate the ends thereof above he skids 10 and 11. Received within the said looped straps and 56 the forward ends of the longitudinally nding beams erably disposed on a line with the bottonr edges of the skids and are set permanently at an angle of 45 to gather weeds or other, rubbish that might otherwise interfere with the successful working of the machine.

Secured to the inner surfaces of the side boards 30 and 31 of the box drag approximate] y about two feet in the rear of the rake 36 are the oppositely disposed strips 38 and 39, said strips being arranged at an angle Extending between the said strips 38 and 39 and secured thereto is a cutting harrow generally indicated by the numeral and including a plurality of spaced'harrow teeth 41 permanently set at an angle of approximately the points of the said teeth being preferably set about two-thirds of an inch below the level of the box drag B for the purpose of loosening the surface of the ground as the machine travels thereover.

Secured to the inner surfaces of the side :59 and 60, said beams extendn rearnuirdly of the machine between the uprights 26 and 27 of the bench 25 and beneath the seat 23 thereof. said beams having their out connected. by the transverse hand g1. pping bar 61. The beams 59 and G0 ar adapted to rest upon blocks 62, one of each of which is secured to the inner surfaces of the uprights 26 and 27 of the bench a F or the purpose of limiting the downward movement of the forward end of the box drag B, there is securedto the outer surface of each of said side boards 30 and 31,11 block 63, said blocks engaging the upper edges of the said skids 10 and 11 whereby to limit the downward movement of the said box drag B.

Secured'to the skids 10 and 11 immediately '3 said skids rearwardly of the chains 6-l and are a second pair of chains 66 and 67,

7 the first trip.

the forward'ends of all of the said chains 64, 65, 66 and 67 being connected to a boss ring 68.

The chains Get and should be as short as possible in order not to afford any play when turning the machine around while the chains 66 and 67 should be just long enough to do all. of the pulling when-the team drawing the machine is going straight ahead. There is also secured to the boss ring 68 a'hook 69 and a chain 70 carrying at its outer end a hook 71. In practice, a double tree or spreader is adapted to be fastened to the hook 69 for table leveling when there is no turning around in order to lighten the draft. However, in'roughing or in the preliminary leveling of a field before the tables are formed, the double tree spreader is secured to the hook 71. WVhen the hook 71 is not being used, it may be engaged with the eye 21 carried by the trans verse bar 20.

The rear end of the machine is also provided with a pair of short chains 72 and 73 and a pair of somewhat longer chains 74 and 75, the forward ends of all of which chains are connected to a boss ring 7 6. These chains serve the same purposes as the forward chains when the machine isbeing drawn rearwardly.

In the 'use of the present machine and when it is desired to rough a newly cleared tract of land, the box drag B is lowered so that the blocks 63'engage the upper surfaces of the skids 10 and 11 and a team of horses or tractor is then hooked, onto the end of the book 71.. The machine is then ready for work and when roughing a newly cleared tract, itis simply customary to draw or pull the machine in any desired direction wher ever there may be a high place which it is necessary to shave down. Owing to the fact that the weight of the beams59 and 60 and hand gripping bar 61 almost counteract the weight of the front bench 51, the machine is so balanced that the box drag B will be automatically raised to release any dirt and especially clods that it cannot dispose of on Duringithis operation, the driver should sit on the rear bench 25 so as not to interfere with this automatic feature of the machine but in the event'that an extra strong team ora tractor is being used, the driver can sit on the front bench 51"to hold the nose of the box drag down.

On the other hand, let us suppose that it is desiredto level an irrigating table and as set forth hereinabove, in table leveling,

it is not important whether there be muchor little or in fact any difference between the level of one table and that of any other but it is very important to have justa little difference in level between both ends of the table so that the land will slope down from,

the irrigating ditch.

Also, the surface must not only be a perfect pla'ne Without hollows or humps but the dirt for leveling must all come from the higher end of thetable and be smeared down along towards the lower-end thereof. For this reason, the present machine cannotwork both going and coming for fear of bringing back on the return trip that dirtwhich has just been carried down on the prior trip. Likewise, if the machine should be turned around, it might be very apt to make ridges that would mar the table;

Therefore, it is advisable to start at the higher end of the table close to one edge thereof and go straight down the table. lVhen doing this, the double tree or spreader is attache-:1 to the hook 69 and in order to bring the machine back after the downward trip it is sim l necessar to unhook the double tree fromthe hook 69, turn the team around and hook the double tree-or spreader to the boss ring 76 at the rear end of the machine. The machine can then be pulled back empty \ithoutthe necessity of turning around and on doing so, the tilting lever should be held downwardly and in anyv desired manner in order tohold the nose of the box drag upwardly so that the machine will run on the skids l0 and 11. This is also done when moving the machine to or from. work.

As the machine is being drawn downwardly towards'the lower end of the table, the rake teeth 37 which extend level with the bottom of the box drag simply'serve to r' move weeds or other relatively large obstructions from the path of the machine while the harrow teeth 31 are adapted to loosen the ground and the planing boards 44 and 45then carry this loosened dirt and spread the same, thereby filling up all hollow places and making the table perfectly plane.

Also, as the machine is being drawn downwardly the operator should press upon the hand bar 61 so as to gradually raise the forward end ofthe boX drag in order that the work may be uniform Should the operator raise the box drag not gradually but suddenly, the box would release all of the surface dirt in one heap and leave a border or ridge across the table some distance from the lower end or foot thereof. Therefore, the operator should'start tilting the box drag when he reaches a certain distance from the foot of the table;

From the foregoing, it is believed that the construction and operation of the present invention will be readily appreciated and it is to be understood that while there has been disclosed one practical embodiment of the presentinvention, which, in practice, will'give eliicient and reliable results, that changes in the details of construction thereof may be resorted to without departing from or sacrificing the spirit of the invention so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the character described, a main frame including a pair of longitudi nally extending skids, a second frame including a pair of side boards positioned be tween the said skids and extending longitudinally thereof, means for pivotally connecting the rear ends of the said boards to said skids, a handle extending rearwardly and upwardly and having its forward end con nected with said boards for raising and lowering the forward ends thereof, blocks carried by said boards and engaging said skids for limiting the downward movement of said boards, a rake carried by and extending between said boards and having a plurality of teeth terminating on a level with the bottom edges thereof, a harrow secured to and between said boards in the rear of said rake and having a plurality of teeth projecting below the bottom edges of said boards, and a planing board secured to and between said boards in the rear of said harrow and hav ing its lower edge even with the bottom edges of said boards.

2. In a machine of the character 7 described a main frame including a pair of longit-udinally extending skids, a second frame including a pair of longitudinally BKtQl'lCling side boards having their rear ends pivotally connected with said skids, a handle secured to said boards for raising and lowering the forward ends thereof, blocks car ried by said boards and engaging said skids for limiting the downward movement of the former, a rake carried by said boards and having a plurality of teeth projecting forwardly therefrom and on a level with the lower edges thereof at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees, a harrow carried by said side boards in the rear of said rake and positioned to extend slightly below the lower edges thereof at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees, and a planing board carried by said side boards in the rear of said harrow and positioned at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees, the lower edge of said planing board being even with the bottom edges of the said side boards.

3. In a machine of the character described, a main frame structure comprising a pair of longitudinally extending skid members, a

second frame arranged within said first mentioned frame between said members, means for connecting said second frame with the first mentioned frame to permit vertical swinging movement of one end of said second frame, a rake element having the teeth thereof arranged in a forwardly and down wardly directed manner, carried at the forward part of said second frame, and further having said teeth positioned with their ends substantially in the same plane as the lower edges of said skids, a harrow structure arranged rearwardly of said rake in a forwardly and downwardly directed manner and extending below the lower edges of said skids, and a planing board arranged rearwardly of said harrow and ithin said second frame, and having the lower edge thereof directed forwardly anddownwardly and terminating in a plane substantially parallel with the lower edge of said skid, and means for swinging said second frame sub-- stantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a machine of the character described, a main frame structure comprising a pair of longitudinally extending skid members, a second frame arranged within said first mentioned frame, between said members, means for connecting said second frame with the first mentioned frame to permit vertical swinging movement of one end of said second frame, a rake element having the teeth thereof arranged in a forwardly and downwardly directed manner, carried at the forward part of said second frame, and further having said teeth positioned with their ends substantially in the same plane as the lower edges of said skids, a harrow structure arranged rearwardly of said rake in a forwardly and downwardly directed manner, and extending below the lower edges of said skids, and a planing board arranged rearwardly of said harrow and within-said second frame, and having the lower edge thereof directed forwardly and downwardly and terminating in a plane substantially parallel with the lower edge of said skids, and means for swinging said second frame substantially as and for the purpose de scribed, the degree of inclination of said rake teeth, harrow and planing board being substantially the same g In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JULES L. HENRY.

lee 

